The Transfer Tavern

Opinion: Crystal Palace have just made their most important move of the summer

According to Sky Sports, Crystal Palace have offered manager Roy Hodgson a one-year extension to his current contract at Selhurst Park. The former England chief worked wonders at the London club last season in guiding them to an 11th place finish in the division, and given how well he steered the ship last term, it appears that Palace have just made their most important move of the summer.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, things were looking bleak for the Eagles when they lost their opening four Premier League matches under Frank de Boer, in which time they failed to even score a goal.

And while his sacking came as something of a surprise, especially given Hodgson then failed to win any of his first three games at the helm, it was without doubt the right decision given what the latter was able to extract from the squad as the season went on.

The former West Brom and Liverpool boss managed to guide the club to 44 points from their final 31 league games of the campaign to eventually seal an 11th place finish, a far cry away from the team that were bottom, pointless, and goalless after seven matches of the season.

And with the 70-year-old able to get the best out of Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend, and Luke Milivojevic, to name but a few, as well as bringing a feel-good factor back to the club, keeping him at Selhurst Park appears to be a no-brainer.

He completely reinvigorated a club that many felt were on their way down to the Championship, and given they eventually finished 11 points clear of danger, it’s arguable that there is the potential in the squad to push even higher, and potentially challenge those in the top half of the table.

And Hodgson appears to know exactly how to get the best out of the current Palace squad, and with a few additions here and there, specifically in the attacking third of the pitch, there’s no reason why he can’t take them even further this time round.

Thus, with the club reportedly offering him a year extension to his current deal, due to expire in 2019, they may well have just made their most important move of the summer in trying to keep Hodgson at Selhurst Park for the coming years.